


Something to Protect

by Perpetual_Screaming



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood and Injury, Fluff, M/M, No Smut, Skeletons, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-25 19:12:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16203878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perpetual_Screaming/pseuds/Perpetual_Screaming
Summary: ”What...time is it?”Finn cocked his head, wondering if he heard right. ”The time?” The man nodded weakly. He peered out the window before answering; orange light radiated from the horizon in a semicircle, staining the sky a purple hue. ”Sunset.”As soon as he heard, the dark-haired man thrashed to the side of the bed and tried to get up.”Who in their right mind would go out with wounds like that?” Finn asked the man.The man’s fists clenched and unclenched, frustrated. ”You don’t understand.” He grumbled. ”This place is in danger as long as I’m here.”---------------------A simple farmer's life is changed when a strange man mysteriously appears in his village, bringing with him a danger no one expected...and something he never knew he would need.





	Something to Protect

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually inspired by Minecraft, believe it or not. I got the idea for this while I was watching a Minecraft Let's Play (I'm honestly surprised it's still a thing but hey, I'm enjoying it).

 

The stranger arrived at dawn.

Covered in blood and clothes torn in various places, he limped into the village square.

Finn just so happened to wake up early that morning, and had taken a walk. He spotted the strange man as he passed by, and gasped.  **”Who are you?!”**  He blurted out, but the man’s only response was to collapse onto the ground, unconscious.

He rushed forward and flipped the man over onto his back. He was still breathing, but his wounds seemed to be pretty severe.

**”Someone, help!”**  He called out, and soon enough another villager emerged from their home and came to check out the scene.

Finn was a good person. And like any good person would do, he hoisted the wounded man up as best he could, with the help of his neighbor, and carried him back to his cottage.

The village didn’t have a “doctor” in the literal sense, but everyone would probably agree that Finn was the closest thing to it. He was the one who treated the other villagers when they were sick, and patched up their wounds. No one else really knew how to do it. So it was he who laid the stranger onto his bed, undressed him, and began to examine his wounds.

The man had a large gash in his side, which was still bleeding. He had other large cuts all over his body, as well as bruises. His ankle appeared to be sprained as well. Finn found a cloth and a bucket of water, and began to wash the dirt and blood off the man’s body. After he was clean enough, Finn wrapped bandages around his mid-section, across his chest, and over his arms and legs as well. The ankle he propped up over some old books he had lying around.

When his work was done he looked over the stranger again, finally noticing the other details that weren’t life-threatening. The man had a serene face as he slept, though naturally hardened from a clearly rough life. Dark hair framed his face; messy, but in a way that suggested it was always like that. Two silver bands adorned his ears: one pierced through the lobe, the other around the helix. He was tall, broad in shoulder, and quite muscular.

Finn himself was shorter by comparison. He had a decent build from farming, but nothing quite like the stranger, clearly seasoned in combat. He had short brown hair, and wide mint-green eyes that drew attention from many.

The stranger slept for most of the day. Finn spent the time tending to his crops and doing household chores. Every now and again he would pause to check on his patient; he would sit there for a while and watch the man as he slept, the only sign of life being the rise and fall of his chest.

It was evening when the stranger finally moved again. He shifted, groaning from the pain of his injuries, and opened his eyes. Finn was watching when it happened, and he gasped, but not just because he woke up.

It was because his eyes were the color of emeralds struck by sunlight. 

The stranger didn’t know this, though. At the sound, he turned his head sharply towards the smaller man watching him. He blinked a few times, eyelids temporarily shutting out that brilliant green light. Then his gaze wandered around the room, trying to get his bearings. Finally his lips moved, and Finn strained his ears to listen to his words.

**”What...time is it?”**

Finn cocked his head, wondering if he heard right.  **”The time?”**  The man nodded weakly. He peered out the window before answering; orange light radiated from the horizon in a semicircle, staining the sky a purple hue.  **”Sunset.”**

As soon as he heard, the dark-haired man thrashed to the side of the bed and tried to get up.

**”Wh-what are you doing?”**  Finn stammered as he tensed in his chair, prepared to help the man.

**”I have to...get out of here.”**  He muttered. He winced as he lifted himself up, and when he put his weight on his ankle his legs buckled. Finn was quick enough to jump up and catch him before he fell, hands wrapped around his sides.

**”Let me _go_.”**  He said sternly, as his hand reached down to grip Finn’s wrist tightly. He managed to pull it away from him and Finn released, allowing the man to try to stand on his own. He didn’t get far; a couple of steps and he was on the ground again. The smaller man approached him cautiously and guided him back to the bed. The stranger didn’t resist any further, but sank into the mattress with an angry huff.

**”Who in their right mind would go out with wounds like that?”**  Finn asked the man.

The man’s fists clenched and unclenched, frustrated.  **”You don’t understand.”**  He grumbled.  **”This place is in danger as long as I’m here.”**

**”Why is that?”**  Finn questioned.  **”Are you a werewolf? Or a monster in disguise?”**  The man said nothing; he only shook his head.

Finn paused, thinking, before he continued.  **”Say, why did you come here anyway? If you’re worried about putting this village in danger.”**  He didn’t wait for the man to respond.  **”It’s because you need help. So I’m going to help you. I’d say it’s worth the risk, wouldn’t you?”**  He looked at the stranger expectantly.

The man sighed in defeat, and fixed his gaze on the wooden wall. Finn took that as a yes. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

**”Alright, so you’ll stay here in bed until you’ve healed enough to move on your own. Doctor’s orders.”**  He said with a friendly smile.

The man was silent for a moment, before he spoke quietly.  **”Thanks. For not leaving me to die.”**

Finn’s smile widened into a full-blown grin.  **”It’s what I do.”**

 

————————

 

And so the stranger stayed under Finn’s care for a while. He remained bedridden, but Finn would visit with him for a while in between the day’s activities.

They talked about different things, and learned about each other. Finn discovered that the man was a traveler by the name of Christopher. He never stayed in one place for very long, and he rarely came in contact with civilization. Finn figured that he must live a lonely and quite dangerous life. In turn, Christopher listened to Finn go on about his day’s work: tending to his crops in order to get by, patching up the villagers’ wounds and treating illnesses.

The night after Christopher’s arrival, strange noises could be heard from outside. They were wet, guttural growls, something Finn had never heard before. As soon as they began Christopher urged Finn to block the door, and the other complied, frightened of the alternative.

The growls continued throughout the night. Every time they heard one Chris would shoot a glance at his longsword leaning against the wall, and his fingers would twitch impatiently. Other than that, the traveler seemed rather accustomed to the sounds.

The next morning, the villagers gathered in the square to discuss what happened. Everyone had cowered in their homes; no one got any sleep. One villager claimed that she had looked out the window, and saw the source of the growling. She described grotesque humanoid monsters, zombie-like, with discolored skin and soulless eyes. Reanimated skeletons roamed among them as well.

She said they were wandering around aimlessly but deliberately, as if they were...searching for something.

Another villager claimed that a monster had broken down his door. Luckily he managed to beat it off with a broom, but his family was forced to hide in the basement until morning.

The villagers ultimately decided that until they came up with a better way to defend themselves, there would be a curfew. Everyone was instructed to barricade their doors at night.

When Finn arrived back at his cottage, he found Christopher sitting up in the bed with his back against the pillows, waiting expectantly.  **”What’s the news?”** he asked after Finn closed the door behind him.

**”Everyone’s okay.”**  Finn answered as he crossed the room towards the bed. He pulled up a chair and began to change the other man’s bandages.  **”They’ve decided to enact a curfew. They’re not sure what else to do; no one’s ever had experience with monsters.”**

Christopher only grunted in response. They were silent for a minute as Finn unraveled the bandages wrapped around his patient’s arm. After a moment of thought, he spoke up again.

**”Why are the monsters here? Do they follow you?”**  He paused his work, gazing at the traveler expectantly.

At first Christopher didn’t meet his gaze. His green eyes were turned away, looking out the window with a somber glaze.  **”I...I think I must be cursed.”**  he began.  **”One day, I woke up on a beach. I have no memories before that. And ever since...monsters appear around me, when night falls. That’s why I keep to myself; the creatures follow me. Hunting. No one else should fall in their path.”**

The man fell silent, and Finn continued to unravel the bandage. It wasn’t until he had replaced it with fresh gauze that he finally responded.  **”That must be lonely.”**

Christopher’s eyes shifted to glance at the shorter man, pained.  **”You have no idea.”**

 

———————— 

 

The two grew a little closer as the days passed. Finn would come talk to Chris during breaks in his work, to keep him company and from getting bored. They traded stories about their lives, whatever the other might find interesting. Despite not remembering much of his past, Christopher still had many fascinating stories to share. He’d traveled to many places and seen many things. He had been in many dangerous situations too, and Finn listened to it all with wide, curious eyes.

Finn by comparison had lived a rather peaceful life, farming and healing others. He figured that his own stories must be boring to the rugged traveler, but Chris reassured him that he liked hearing about it. It was very different from the perilous nomadic life that he himself led.

As time passed Christopher opened up more. He greeted Finn enthusiastically every time the other came inside to see him, and happily told him everything Finn was curious about.

But there was one question that had a rather grim answer.

Finn asked him whether he’d met with others before. And Christopher explained what happened the only time he had.

It was a small settlement, nearby the coast. He said that he had visited to look for answers about himself. But as night fell, the monsters invaded. He had tried to slay them, but he didn’t realize until it was too late that the monsters could turn any human into one of them, to take on their ghastly undead form. So as they attacked, their army grew. Christopher was forced to flee the settlement, leaving everyone to their fate. He said that not a single person had survived. And that was the reason he lived his life alone.

The account chilled Finn to his core.  

 

———————— 

 

Days had passed, but it was only a matter of time before something went wrong.

Night had fallen, and the guttural wails had already begun outside of the cottage walls. The two tried not to pay any mind to it. Christopher was settled into bed, and Finn was just about to turn off the lantern and retreat to his own quarters.

Suddenly, a bony fist smashed through the window.

Finn screamed. Christopher jumped out of bed and immediately went for his sword. The doctor scrambled backwards into the corner of the room in panic and watched as the skeleton climbed through the window, bony feet crunching on broken glass. The other man rushed towards the hellspawn and whacked its skull with his blade. The force of the blow caused it to crumple to the ground, bones cracked and dissembling.

By that time, other undead creatures were gathering at the freshly-made hole in the wall.

Christopher turned around and grabbed the lantern off the nightstand. He pushed it into Finn’s hands and shoved him towards the ladder on the far side of the room.

**”Get upstairs, now!”**  he shouted.

Not sparing even a second to argue, Finn began his ascent. He heard the sound of blade hitting flesh, an angry growl, and a moment later Christopher was following him up the ladder. He grunted and cursed with the effort, but managed to get to the top despite his still-healing injuries.

**”They can’t climb.”**  Christopher panted when they had both reached the safety of the second floor, but he grabbed the ladder and pulled it up anyway. His muscles rippled underneath his skin, strained with the effort. He set the ladder aside and slammed the trapdoor closed, muffling the sound of the creatures below.

Finn sat away from the trapdoor with the lantern cast beside him. His legs trembled in front of him and his breathing grew heavy. His heart pounded in his chest.  **”Chris...what...”**  he muttered shakily as tears sprang to his eyes.

The other man turned around, and his green gaze widened in shock at Finn’s panic. He set the sword aside, crawled across the floor to him and immediately wrapped the smaller man in his arms.

Finn didn’t know what to do, but he felt safer in Christopher’s embrace, so he shifted closer to the tall man’s chest. In response Chris held Finn tighter, and leaned down to whisper in his ear.  **”Don’t worry. I won’t let them hurt you.”**

Finn believed him.

Soon his breathing slowed, and eventually he fell asleep in Christopher’s arms. The man picked him up and laid him down in the bed in the corner. Then he crawled in next to him and pulled the covers over them both.

They stayed like that until morning arrived.  

 

———————— 

 

The effort exerted from that night prolonged the healing process, but eventually Christopher was able to stand and move around without much trouble.

So one morning, Finn made his way downstairs to find the man donning his traveler’s clothes, his sword already in its sheath at his belt.  **”Christopher? You’re leaving already?”**  He couldn’t quite disguise the disappointment in his voice.

The man glanced behind him before he bent down to lace up his boots.  **”Trust me, you’ll be much safer as soon as I’m gone. It’s the right thing to do.”**

**”B-but...wait!”**  Finn called out. Christopher walked over to the door and Finn followed him. He reached out and grabbed Christopher’s hand, stopping him in his tracks.  **”You don’t really _want_  to leave though...do you?”**

The dark-haired man stared at the door for a moment, and sighed. He turned around to meet Finn’s mint gaze with a pained expression.  **”I don’t, really.”**  With his free hand, he reached up to caress Finn’s cheek, tracing the pad of his thumb over soft skin.  **”But I don’t want to keep you in danger any longer.”**

Finn reached his own hand up to cup the one on his cheek, holding it in place.  **”Then stay.”**  he pleaded sweetly.  **”I _will_  be safe, as long as you’re here.”**

Chris inhaled sharply, shocked at the words’ implication, and the emotions they planted in his heart. Then his gaze melted with a warm smile, and he squeezed Finn’s other hand.  **”Maybe I can.”**  he mused.

**”But there’s something I must do.”**

 

———————— 

 

Christopher immediately got to work.  **”They don’t like light.”**  he explained to Finn as he started to build lantern posts to place around the village.  **”So this will certainly help.”**

And help it did. Soon every house in the village had a lantern post close by, as well as the village square and the perimeter. But it wasn’t foolproof, of course. Most of the monsters stayed away, but occasionally there would be some who’d ignore the light or find a way around it.

But Christopher’s work was far from over. After the lanterns, he began a new project.

It took him a while to get started; he had to find materials to make a type of cement, and plenty of large, solid stones for building. Finn led him to an abandoned mineshaft a short distance away, almost completely forgotten to the village. It was chock full of resources, the ones Chris would need anyway.

Then he got to work. It was a slow process; the weeks stretched into months. Yet slowly but surely, progress was made.

They didn’t see much of each other during the day. Christopher spent the daylight hours building, while Finn busied himself with his farm and other duties. The evenings they spent growing closer as friends, or perhaps something a little different. Sharing stories, meals, even cuddling by the furnace.

Life for both of them grew brighter with each other.

Finally, Christopher set down the tools and wiped the sweat off his forehead, as his gaze swept across his finished work. The wall was sturdy, or as much as it could be from the effort of just one man. It was just tall enough to keep the otherworldly creatures from crawling over it. And it encompassed the entire village.

_Between this wall and the lights,_  he thought,  _this village should finally be safe._

_Even with me here._

Christopher trekked back to the cottage to tell Finn the good news. He found the smaller man in the yard, hard at work tending to his crops. Finn glanced behind him when he heard the man approaching and stood up, surprise coloring his expression.  **”You’re back early today.”**  he remarked.

Christopher walked steadily forward until he was right in front of Finn.  **”I am. The wall is complete.”**

A soft smile graced Finn’s features at the words.  **”So it is.”**  His fingers fluttered at his sides, unsure of what to do with his hands.  **”So that means you can stay?”**  he asked with a hopeful glint in his mint-green eyes.  **”Forever, maybe?”**

Christopher grinned as he pulled the gloves off his hands. He cupped them around the other man’s cheeks, and leaned down to press his lips to Finn’s. Finn’s eyes closed as he sighed into the kiss, and his hands reached up to rest on top of Christopher’s.

**”Yeah. I’ll stay.”**  Christopher answered when he broke away, as he watched the flush coloring his lover’s cheeks.  **”Forever.”**

Tears began to well in Finn’s eyes, and he pulled Chris into another kiss, longer this time.

As the sun shone bright upon them, they surrounded each other with warmth, filled with happiness and hope for all the good times to come.

**”Because I found something to protect.”**

 

**Author's Note:**

> Christopher is my OC (one of my personal faves, I might add); Finn belongs to my best friend.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed :) I'm always trying to improve my writing, and this is one of the first stories that I've decided to upload on the internet. I have a couple more that I'm planning to upload here as well, and quite a few projects in the works.


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